BearKnuckle

Friday, March 1, 2013

It's beginning to become crunch time to complete this EP. We only have one song left to mix and then we'll go back and listen to everything again and then on to mastering. Alot of time has been put into mixing each song and making it sound exactly how we want it to sound. The hardest part aside from getting all of the instruments to sound good together, is adding effects to vocals. We like to use reverb and delay effects in a few songs. We have to decide how fast we need the delay, how many repeats. Sometimes it's really hard to actually create the effect you hear in your head. Once we finally get the results we're looking for we really start to see the way the album is going to turn out. BearKnuckle feels this album is going to be very "professional" sounding and as if it were made in a really nice studio and made by some really over paid producer. This is album is totally produced, recorded, engineered, mixed, mastered by BearKnuckle. The equipment we have is just good enough for us to scrape by and make something that is worth a shit. I am playing the opening track "Rite of Passage" over and over and over and over. Nick and I wrote this song together, or the main parts of it atleast, when we were 15. It started out totally instrumental and contained only 2 of the actual riff's from the song you'll hear on the album. This was like our first "real" song, and surly the only song that stuck with us from back then. We had written a few other songs before that, but those were all eventually overlooked. This song which was written by inspiration from at the time Nick's new flanger pedal, we originally called the song "Flange". The title "Rite of Passage" wasn't thrown in until we started demoing it with our first band Sanus Valde. Though we never ended up using the song with Sanus Valde for the short career we had, it's now definitely my favorite BearKnuckle song! I feel like the name of this song is relavent to many aspects about the album and all of the work being put into it. This album really is our rite of passage so to say into a new caliber of life for us. For Nick, Willie and I we never have released music that we are actually getting such a good response from, and never had something to really be anticipated by the fans. This is our first real fan base. We want the rite of passage to move forward with our career and our music and adulthood. This rite of passage is how we are going to prove ourselves to the world. Being that this song is so old, it's like it was meant to be on this album. This band was meant to happen, this rite of passage is imminent. I am in love with this band, and this album and this happenstance.

Monday, February 4, 2013

I'm sitting here listening to our latest mix of our next single we're going to release. It is an awesome feeling hearing the final product. Considering I've never really heard a solid recording of this song until now, and I'm really impressed with what we as a band can put together and all collectively produce. It gives me high hopes for our album and our future. It feeds the burning need to create. We have had this song arranged for over 2 years and now it is finally going to see light in a recording. This gives me so much satisfaction. I'm going to gloat here. I'm really happy with what we are going to be releasing. I'm really happy about this album and I think you are all going to love it! This only makes me more exciting about recording our next album, and hearing all of these new songs on through speakers. All I do is music, I stay up to late hours at night creating music. So when I'm finally able to hear it on a real recording, it's what I have been trying to accomplish from the beginning. Everything that I write is intended to be recorded. Recording comes to no permanent satisfaction. There is always something I'd like to change on my bass line or how i sing a melody or anything at all really. Something always needs to be louder, or something always needs to be turned down. I'll never know the true way I want to hear a song. I guess that's the hard part about recording. Mixing and mastering, are the hardest task because everyone wants to hear a song differently, and will have a different reaction to a certain mixing style. The whole band sitting in the room together mixing the song makes a huge difference in the way it turns out. We are all put forth various ideas of how we think it should sound, and then it becomes the final product. I suppose we will all collectively become better at mixing by the time we are done with this album, and moving into the next album, we will have alot more experience together with recording and mixing and the whole long process that brought us all closer together. Our collection of studio gear will continue to grow so we'll surely have a better sounder record the next time around; but for this current album we used everything we have, which just got by. We will continue to get by on our own making records. Hit us up if you want help making a killer record! BearKnuckle Productions here we come.

Monday, January 28, 2013

At what point did music become my way of life and what I live for? When did music become my life and my pretty much my wife. I can remember many of the songs from my early childhood, when I was maybe four years old. "Zombie" by the Cranberries was really popular back then, I heard that song all the time. It's like one of my first memories ever possibly. I remember when I was in second grade, age 7, a friend named Zieke said I should listen to Hanson. So Nick and I got "Middle of Nowhere" for Christmas that year. We loved those guys when we were young. They were very inspirational to us. I think these were the first jolts of musical inspiration that I ever had without even realizing it. Later on in fourth grade we were given the opportunity to play in the elementary strings band. Nick chose cello and I chose violin. We kept up with practicing for maybe one week if I remember correctly. We lost interest by fifth grade. Our friend Kevin also turned us onto the band Limp Biskit, we rocked "Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water" to no end. Though I'm a little ashamed of that now lol. It wasn't until sixth grade when I really started venturing into more music. Linkin Park came out around then when I was age 11 and I didn't know any better. Me and Nick both listened to the "Hybrid Theory" album alot. In that same year we got into other bands like The Gorillaz , the song "Clint Eastwood" was very popular on the radio. Also in that same year Mom and Dad introduced us to Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix. From there that would shape my musical palette for the better, forever. Around 8th grade when I was 13 I started listening to Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine heavily. The next year is when I picked up bass guitar. I started getting into so much music, too many to list really. That is when every band I listened to became my new favorite band. I was so receptive to music, especially with learning how to play bass. Audioslave and Soundgarden were my top bands, and I also started getting to Mile's Davis with the "Kind of Blue" album. Soon after that I got into Jaco Pastorius, which is when I decided to really be a bass player I'd say, that same year is also when I met a teacher at the National Guitar Workshop named Bill Kratz, who really inspired me to strive to become a professional musician. I learned so much about music in his class, and I feel that class equipped me with everything I needed to continue to be receptive musically and really be able to understand music to it's core. That was right when I turned age 16, and from there on I became the musician I am today. I will forever continue to evolve as a musician/artist/person and I will always grow into the next version of myself. This blog entry is dedicated to music, my religion. A universal language, with no wrong sentence.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Right here we stand alive today
Right here we stand alive today
From hand to ground you hear us pray
Right here we stand alive today

Just waiting for a new day
With righteous path for no fame
For all that we do pay
I just wanted to say

We plan on passing by your way soon
As soon as I find my way home
No design, or members to folder
There is no reason at all
The one you seek with promise and virtue
Will rid your pain in one call
Open your eyes and you'll see our real
Escaped from life and walls

I've got alot to say, but I don't you're listening
But you want to stray from everything that keeps control of you
This time I can't say that I didn't have a better try
This way let's run for our lives and we'll continue living what we call life

My mouth is sour from the taste of this textured bullshit on your tongue
I have a broken frame with an imagine of your one track mind
The hate you feel for me only comes from deep inside yourself
The that you take up is subject to change without my premise

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Finding peace within a society that is money hungry, is nearly impossible. Quality is no longer an attribute in production. In the case of the Gorilla Music Battle of the Bands, talent, and quality and originality are not factors in which this competition is judged. In fact this competition is not judged at all. It is all based on a yell off, which has no justification to the most talented band. When your time slot is based on ticket sales, that are incredibly over priced and the yell off isn't until midnight, it's a wonder only the last 3 bands to perform make top 3. They sold the most tickets, so they have a crowd at the end of the night to participate in a yell off to determine who wins battle of the bands. Also when all of these bands are high schooler's that are age 16 and under, and can invite a whole school and church to their show, then a band like ours who doesn't have the convenience of selling tickets to your school, has no chance in winning a competition that isn't on talent at all. I don't see how the promoter's of Gorilla Music and proudly present a battle of the bands as if it is a talent competition. Acting as if it is such a great opportunity to play the Masquerade. I have played the Masquerade multiple times, it's nothing new or exciting. This business of promoting a battle of the bands is just a money hungry scam in the end. It's not fair to judge a competition only with a yell off, when most of these bands have probably only played 5 shows in their lives. A battle of the bands should be judged, with actual judges who determine if the bands who perform are professional, and well rehearsed. I would just like to use this blog to discourage anyone from accepting any offer's from Gorilla Music. They went home with a pocket of cash probably upwards of $6000.00. Now I know they paid alot of that money to the Masquerade for letting Gorilla Music use the venue. My point of the whole thing is to show how unfair a so called "talent" competition is. It's not about talent, its about money and that is the problem! I just want to express my anger in the utter waste of time that this Battle of the Bands was. I mean sold a few shirts and made a few fans, and we got to play Heaven, woah bigggg deal. We could have played a better show that would have been more real to our hearts. We are happy for the response from peers and our overall performance on Sunday night, but we are angered with the sheer scam that Gorilla Music presents. SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM. FUCK YOU

Saturday, January 19, 2013

This year is going to be kicking off for BearKnuckle. The album is on it's way in March, as well as a mini tour of the southeast. We plan to book more small tours through out the year. This is something we are all incredibly excited for. We cannot wait to go to somewhere unknown to us, where no one has heard us. There is nothing like rocking a brand new crowd. The feeling when you see people listening to you and knowing they have never heard or met you before is amazing. This is why having a high energy and dynamic performance is important. The music is one part of it all, but putting on a show that people remember is the other half of it. We are greatful for the fans we have made over the last year and all of the face's we see at every show. Now the goal is to make more fans outside of Atlanta, that we can continue seeing at those shows aswell. Our show last weekend at BeAtlanta was incredible. It had been a while since I'd seen that many people packed into that house. I don't think I've been so sweaty on stage before either. We hope BearKnuckle's shows will only continue to get bigger, better and wetter! We are in the process of booking our album release party and trying to decide a line up. We know there will be four acts total. We also know we want it to be free entry, so we can make sure everyone can come! Once this album is done we are going to start writing and recording our next album. We already have some material written. I can see it's going to have some new sounds for BearKnuckle. The main purpose of all of our music to express clear, true, organic emotions through our sounds. We have alot of emotions to express so just keep listening. We are excited for the new year and all that we have planned.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

BearKnuckle started our set at midnight and it was explosive! The whole crowd was moving to every song. Everyone gave really great feedback. I say this was a good first show for the new year. This marks a year completed as BearKnuckle, and it really shows us how much our drive and love for this band has paid off. I can only imagine this upcoming year will bring us much more success and enjoyment with the band. I feel like if we continue to associate with the people in this music scene that we genuinely like and are friends with, we will continue to prosper. Atlanta's underground rock music scene is incredibly diverse and welcoming as an audience. It saddens me that this scene is not recognized very far in the more mainstream world. I have had this very strong underlying feeling that I cannot explain for quite a while now. I feel like its a feeling that convey's something big to me, and I like to think that it is representing the success of this market in Atlanta. I wonder if maybe this great awakening that many people talk about that was supposed to be happing in 2012, could be maybe that the music in this market will start to come to the surface. Maybe people are going to wake up and realize that the majority of the music on the radio is just fabricated mashed up bullshit that we are told to like. I feel like there is another revolution coming. I hope it means a change in the mainstreams pallet. I know people are going to have to get tired of hearing disco bubble gum pop all the time. 1's and 0's are going to get old soon. People want to hear real instruments, playing real live music. Nothing can replace the feeling of emotion that a person conveys when they play their instrument. We at BearKnuckle promise our music will have emotion, from anger to love. Our performance on stage will convey our spirit's. Keep your head's up in 2013. BearKnuckle plans to maul this town. Figuratively speaking of course.